The Washington Post’s David Ignatius blockbuster report today on the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s plot to attack President Barack Obama and Gen. David Petraeus contains a nugget of compelling truth: in Osama’s view, Vice President Joe Biden was “totally unprepared” for the presidency and his ascension to the post would “lead the U.S. into a crisis.”
In the piece which sheds light on a narrowly averted plot to attack the president in Afghanistan, bin Laden is unexpectedly candid and displays at least a cursory knowledge about politics in Washington.
“[The reason for attacking Obama and Petraeus] is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make (Vice President Joe) Biden take over the presidency. … Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour … and killing him would alter the war’s path,” said bin Laden.
Poor Vice President Biden. Some would argue that, as a member of the Senate for several decades and a highly qualified expert on American foreign policy that he is slightly more qualified for the job than President Obama. Well, that’s what they argued in 2008 anyway. Turns out that there may be some room for on-the-job training in the Oval Office.
The documents which revealed the Al Qaeda plot were taken from bin Laden’s compound following the May 2, 2011, Navy SEAL raid which resulted in the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist. The documents were declassified and will soon be made available to the public in their original Arabic.
The documents also emphasize the importance of carrying out attacks inside the U.S. and not simply in South Asia, although the attack described on America’s top military and civilian leadership would have been indescribably devastating.
It is a statement of just how effective the global war on terror has been that just 11 years after the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden is dead and his plots can be a source of humor –albeit dark humor. Credit is due to the men and women of our military and the competent civilian leadership that lead the effort through two bipartisan presidential administrations. At a time when there is much rancor and division (election years will do that) it behooves us to recognize that some elements of politics end at the water’s edge. We are all safer for it.
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Follow Noah Rothman @Noah_C_Rothman
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